We also had the unique opportunity of attending Inventor Forums with both Mattel and Spin Master. The team got to check out new products not yet available to the public, and received the companies’ wish lists for the following year.

Besides inventing, we spent some time on grass roots promotion of our games and community outreach through school visits in the San Diego area and in Michigan. We also participated in Barnes and Noble game nights, the Marine Corps Air Show, and Toys for Tots.

For our Toys for Tots campaign we were interviewed by San Diego NBC morning news and San Diego CW 6 News. Through help and support from USAopoly and Spin Master, and over 1000 Facebook fans, GaZima Games was able to donate over $5000 worth of games and toys to the Toys for Tots program.

Stomple was officially released to the public by Spin Master!

Ratuki, licensed to USAOPOLY, had great sales in 2010. Ratuki was sub-licensed to Hasbro in December and had its very own commercial on national television.

Check out the commercial (and the outtakes for a good laugh): [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elW9PZvPCfU&NR=1]

That’s it for 2010! Stay tuned for our 2011 blog… hopefully we’ll get it out before 2012!

On the Gaming Front

The last six weeks have been a whirlwind.   Being invited to Mattel for Inventor’s Day was a tremendous honor and experience.  We were able to see the inner workings of the toy and game giant as well as network with 140 inventors to discuss our games and future ideas.  Since then, we have had meetings with both Mattel and Spin Master to present our games.  We have also been very busy promoting our speed card game Ratuki.  Since the beginning of December, we have hosted three game nights at local Barnes & Noble stores, exhibited at the Children’s Christmas Carnival on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and shared our games with a local philanthropic game playing group.  We post our events on GaZima Games facebook so if you want to stay connected or attend an event feel free to friend us!

In the community

Since our last posting, we made a donation to the Occupational Therapy department at Camp Pendleton Hospital to support the Wounded Warrior program.  Our games Ratuki, Gobsmacked, and Zip made a tremendous impression on the staff.  We are thrilled that our games are helping our brave service men and women.

GaZima Games coached a ten and eleven year-old youth soccer team, the Devil Dogs, through an undefeated season from October to December.  We had an amazing time passing our soccer knowledge on to the kids and watching them develop as individual players and as a team.  We even won the league canned food drive!!

Games Update

Gobsmacked™, won the Creative Child 2009 Game of the Year Award and the prestigious National Parenting Seal for 2010. 

Ratuki™, manufactured by USAopoly was released exclusively in Barnes & Nobles and was one of their top sellers for the holiday season.

Rate It^TM, our newest family party game, has just been released in Barnes & Noble.  We are very excited to see it on store shelves.

 We look forward to the 2010 and all it has to hold.  And, as always, we appreciate everyone’s support and feedback from playing our games with friends and family.

The last month has been very busy for us.  First, we were invited to the Mattel Inventor’s Day.  It was a tremendous experience to be able to see the inner workings of the toy and game giant.  While we were in LA, we also visited with Spin Master, the third largest toy manufacturer in North America. 

The following week, we went to Rancho Bernado High School to give a talk on leadership to their Robotics Club.  Later that same week, we gave a talk on how to invent a game to a grade school, followed by hosting a booth at their school fair the next day.  We were the hit of the fair, and our booth was completely crowded with kids wanting to play our newest game, Ratuki. 

We are most proud our donation to the Wounded Warrior Program at the Balboa Naval Hospital.  At the suggestion of one of our friends who was the Officer-in-Charge of the program, we made the donation of three of our games – Zip, Ratuki, and Gobsmacked – to the occupational therapy department.  We have received a tremendous response from the main therapist.  She is going to recommend our games for use at the Camp Pendleton hospital. 

We are currently preparing for a meeting next week with Spin Master, when we will present our new games.  Then on December 1st, we meet with Mattel to show them a variety of Uno extensions. 

That was a long first blog, but we have had a busy month.  Check back from time to time for our most recent updates!